Lost at Sea
by Magical Reality
Summary: Zuko and Katara get stranded on island after some very unexpected and unfortunate events. They struggle with making choices, leading them to trust one another. With a little help, they manage to survive on the island, all the while holding onto the small hope that one day they will see their loved ones again. But until that day, they remain lost at sea. Zutara
1. Part 1 How It All Began

**Hey all! I figured it was time for a longer Zutara story and this one has been laying around for a while. This is rated T just to be safe. As far as I have mapped out, there is nothing super weird. The cut part will be under a different title in which I will put up as soon as I can. And just for a time reference, this all happens between the end of Season 1 and the point in which everyone reaches Ba Sing Se. Hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender**

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 _Lost at Sea_

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 **Sozin's comet was nearly** **a** **month away. Me and my friends were** **on our way to Ba Sing Se and had stopped near a marketplace for the night. I was out for a walk not far from the market when I saw a group of men talking in loud voices just outside a tavern. I crept closer to them and hid behind some crates to hear what they were discussing. But I accidentally leaned to much on one of the crates and it fell off the stack with a crash. All the men fell silent and turned their eyes to me. Fear washed over me. I turned and ran down the street as fast as I could. Little did I know, I would most likely never see my friends and family again and that those poor choices I just made would take me on the most unexpected path.**

 _Katara Pov_

My foot suddenly caught in a crevice. I fell to my knees and then scrambled back onto my feet. I continued down the street at my fastest pace. I wouldn't stop no matter how much my feet ached. My hands flew to my hip when I noticed a small but important weight had been taken off of it. _My water canteen! The strap must have come undone and fallen off when I tripped!_

I zipped off of the street and skidded to a stop when I found myself at a bit of a dead end. The docks were just ahead of me, but they were all blocked off with ships. But before I could make a decision on what to do next, I felt a hand grab me roughly by the arm.

"Hey! Let me go!"

 **Sozin's comet was getting closer and closer. My Uncle had informed me of this about a week ago. I had to do something. We had been traveling to Ba Sing Se together with hopes of starting over. I told my Uncle that I needed to help the Avatar and his friends defeat my father and end his rule. He told me that that was a very honorable thing to do, more so than hiding in Ba Sing Se. So I left my Uncle and began to backtrack in hopes of bumping in the Avatar. I wasn't really sure how I was going to get them to trust me, but I knew I had to try. Stopping at that marketplace was one of the biggest mistakes I had ever made, because I would probably never see my Uncle or anything I knew ever again. But, when I heard those little footsteps, I still believe I made the best choice when I followed them. Why? Because I ended up following them and keeping up with them for the rest of my life.**

 _Zuko Pov_

I was laying peacefully on a rooftop enjoying the coolness of the night, when I heard hard panting and swift footsteps jet pass me. I sat up and grabbed my blue and white mask from where it had been resting on my crossed legs. I quickly tied the black ribbons of the mask around my head and then pulled my black hood over my short hair. Then, after securing my dual swords onto my back, I climbed down off the roof and jumped onto the ground as quietly and stealthily as a fox.

I was just about to run after the person who had passed me, when I heard angry shouting and a whole mess of sloppy footsteps coming my way. Quickly, I pressed my back to the wall of the building I had just been napping on, hoping I would blend into the wall with the darkness to cover me. It worked. The group of men ran right past me. I took off after them, with the knowledge of why the runner had been running as fast as they were. He, or she, was being chased by pirates.

 _Katara Pov_

I was roughly yanked against the person who was holding me.

"Ouch! That hurts!" I yelled as the man twisted my arm painfully behind my back.

"If you shut up, maybe it won't hurt so much," the man growled in my ear.

I moaned pitifully. "What do you want with me?"

To my suprise, the man laughed. "It ain't what I want, sweetheart. It's what he wants!"

I looked up to see a tall, stocky man standing in front of me in with the glowing moonlight shining in behind him. He had gray hair and misty blue eyes. He wore a brown cloak and a crimson tunic underneath that and light brown pants which were tucked into brown boots. The two things though that turned my memories back in time and made me gawk in disbelief was a maroon pirate hat sitting atop his head and an iguna parrot perched on his shoulder. I couldn't believe it. It was the pirate I had stolen that waterbending scroll from less than a month ago.

 _Zuko Pov_

I swiftly and quietly followed after the pirates. When I saw that they were coming up to the end of the street, I veered off to the side and climbed up onto one of the small market buildings. I dropped and pressed my body against the structure so that I was laying flat against the roof.

As soon as I was down, I spotted a girl in a watertribe dress standing at the end of the enclosed street, looking frantically left and right for a way out. But before she could go anywhere, the group of pirates caught up with her. One of them came up behind her and grabbed her arm. She turned around to yell at him and yell at him she did.

But I was hardly listening to what she was saying. I was to busy gawking at her face, which was now revealed to me by the moonlight. I knew this girl.

 _Katara Pov_

The pirate captain approached me and stood so tall that the moonlight made the shadow of his figure loom over me. He glared at me with gleaming eyes that felt like ice daggers piercing me as he questioned in a low and intimidating voice, "Where is it?"

I swallowed and put on the most innocent face I could conjure. "Where's what?"

The pirate captain grabbed my chin and yanked my head up so I was forced to look into his eyes. "You know perfectly well what I am talking about."

"Such pretty words for such a disgusting man."

He sneered. "Where is it?"

I sneered back. "Enlighten me."

The pirate captain released my chin and then, to my utter shock, slapped me across the face with the back of his hand. "Tell me where it is, you wench!"

"Why should I?" I yelled at him as I tried to ignore the new burning sensation in my cheek. "You stole it from my people! Why should I return something that belongs to my culture?"

The pirate captain's face contorted into a nasty scowl. "Because it belongs to me!"

Then suddenly, his face relaxed and he took a step backwards. "You know what? I'll give you some time to think it over."

I frowned, unsure of what he meant exactly. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm sure you'll come to your senses after you've spent a couple of days in a cage at the bottom of my ship," the pirate Captain responded with a sinister laugh. "Tie her up, boys. We sail away tonight!"

With that, he turned on me as my eyes filled with tears of fear. _No..._

 _Zuko Pov_

I watched silently as the girl yelled at the captain of the pirates. I could see his face too and sneered when I remembered how I had agreed to help him get his scroll back if he assisted in the capture of the Avatar. _I wonder if that's why he's chased her down. All this trouble for just a stupid little scroll?_

I couldn't help but admire the girl's strength and courage though. I could not ever forget that these pirates had also blown up my ship in an attempt to kill me. I still wasn't entirely sure if this was really about the scroll or not, but I had a gut feeling that it was. What could possibily make them need it so bad? The only thing I could think of was that it had a really high paying buyer. How inhuman to chase and attack a girl just for a bucket of money. Pirates sure did love their money.

I was jerked from my thoughts when I heard the girl cry out and then aburptly silent. I squinted my eyes so I could see what was happening, but the only source of light was the pale moonbeams. I needed to get closer.

I quietly and descretly climbed down off the building I had glued myself to and darted over to some nearby crates closer to where the girl was being held captive. I jumped a little when one of the pirates said, "Hold her down! Heh, she quite the fighter, but she'll learn her lesson while she's locked up at the bottom of the ship!"

My heart skipped a beat. _Did I hear that right?_

I had to do something. This Watertribe girl was by no means my friend and she most likely wanted nothing to do with me, but she was still a person and this kind of treatment was something no one, especially her, deserved.

 _Katara Pov_

I kicked and squirmed as much as I could as three of the burly pirates held me firmly down. Two more men, which I think I might have given a good amount of well deserved bruises and scrapes, tied my hands behind my back. Then deciding that I was still dangerous, tied my ankles together after they got a good hold on them. They wiped their hands in satisfaction as they felt they had gotten me to the point where I could not kick or scratch them anymore. Then, the first pirate who grabbed me, picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of rice and began walking toward the ship.

I continued to squirm. I started to yell, but as soon as that first cry for help left my mouth, a nasty smelling piece of cloth was stuffed into my mouth.

"Shut up, wench! And even try any of your bending tricks! That cloth has a herb in it that will keep ya from bending," warned my captor.

I sneered and tried to shove the cloth out of my mouth with my tongue, but it was so fowl tasting that I resolved to keeping my tongue in the back of my mouth where the cloth couldn't touch it.

 _How in the name of La am I going to get out of this mess?_

 _Zuko Pov_

I followed the pack of pirates and the girl as quietly as I could. I kept to the market buildings and stalls that skirted the docks so I could blend in with the darkness.

My heart sunk down into my stomach when I heard the girl cry out for help. I stood frozen for a moment, waiting for her to call out again, but she never did.

They must have gagged her. I was even more determined now to help the poor girl.

As I continued to follow them to their ship, my thoughts wandered and I began to ask myself a question that I felt ashamed of not knowing the answer to.

 _What was that girl's name?_

I knew for a fact that I had heard it multiple times, but had never considered to take the time to remember it or any of her other friend's names. I'm pretty sure the Avatar's name is Aang. Other than that, I didn't think I knew any of the others name's.

I also was unsure why my desire to help the watertribe girl was so deep. There was the fact that she was a close friend of the Avatar's, not to mention his waterbending teacher, but it was more than that. I just felt like something was telling me that she really needed my help. I couldn't explain it, I just... knew.

 _Katara Pov_

I was practically panicking as the pirate carried me aboard.

 _I don't even have the stupid scroll anymore!_ I wanted to yell, even though I knew it would be in vain. I had lost it when we were running away from a group of Fire Nation soldiers one day. I was still a bit puzzled on how the pirates had been able to follow me and my friends this far. _Who knew if they were even following us!_ The whole thing may as well be a very bad coincidence. It felt almost like yesterday that I had told my brother that it was ok to steal if it was from pirates. How wrong it felt now!

"Ok boys. Let's get this ship movin so we catch up with our buyer. He's growing impaitent." The captain paused and looked at me with distasteful eyes. "And even if she doesn't tell us where that scroll is, I'm sure will get the same amount or more if we sell him the girl instead. You!" The captain pointed at one of the of pirates. "Take her below deck and lock her up."

"Aye, sir," the pirate responded. My captor tossed me into the hands of another pirate. "Alright wench. Be good or else you'll get whats comin to ya," the pirate growled.

I was way to scared to even try and conjure up an escape route. I was quite certain by now though that I would never see my brother or friends ever again.

 _Zuko Pov_

I waited as patiently as I could in the darkness of the night while the pirates loaded up. During the time I was forced to wait, I did my best to spark my memory.

 _What in the name of Agni was that girl's name? Kalani? No. Natera? No! Ugh. It's probably something long and... water tribey. I'll never remember it. ...I'm pretty sure it started with a k though. At least thats a bit of a start. Hmm... Kanara? No wait... Kat... Katara? Yes! Thats it! Katara._

I was actually kind of surprised at how pretty a Water Tribe name could be. To me, they usually sounded goofy or were to hard to even pronounce.

But then again, so are Fire Nation names.

When the pirates finally pulled their boarding plank in and the deck was clear, I darted forward from my hiding place and jumped off the docks. I flew in the air for a moment and then landed quietly on the lower part of the deck.

I was still for a moment as I checked sights and sounds, before I darted off behind a barrel for cover. I was just in time, for a tall slinky pirate walked right past me. He had something drapped over one of his shoulders, that I first mistook for a sack.

The moon had gone behind a cloud, so the light was a bit bad, but it didn't take me long to figure out that that pirate had Katara draped over one of his broad shoulder's. I slinked slowly from barrel to barrel to get a better look.

The pirate trudged all the way across the deck and then opened a hatch that led below deck. He jerked the tied up girl off his shoulder and dropped her into the hole. My breathed hitched.

"Hey Zahan! Lock her up in that cage we got last week," he called down into the hole.

I froze. I needed to get down there.

I crept away from my cover and snuck up behind the pirate who had just dropped Katara. Inhaling quickly, I fisted my hand and punched the pirate across the back of the head, temporarily knocking him out. I breathed a sigh of relief and then hastily dragged the pirate behind the same barrels I had just been hiding behind.

I went back to the hatch and jumped inside. It was dark except for the small amount of moonlight shining in through the hatch. With the small portion of light, I saw Katara for a moment and then I quickly shut the hatch door so the darkness could conceal me.

 _Katara Pov_

My heartbeat was going a mile a mintue as that pirate lifted me and then dropped me into the darkness of that hatch. I braced myself for a hard landing against the floor of the boat, but to my suprise, I was caught by two large and rather thick arms. Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief, I rolled out of his grip and fell on my back with a thud. I moaned in pain, but luckily nothing felt broken and my oxygen stayed in my lungs. I continued to hold back my tears as my new captor took hold of the ropes binding my ankles and began dragging me away from the moonlight streaming through the hatch.

However, before I was dragged away from the moonlight beaming in from the open hatch, I heard a faint _thwack_ noise. Then there was a _thump_. A split second later, I found myself gazing through misty eyes at a figure clad in black clothing. The only real distinction I could make out was a blue and white mask covering his face.

But as soon as he was there, there was another _thump_ as the hatch door came down and he vanished into the darkness. I felt a small pain in one of my shoulders and assumed that it had been bruised from my fall.

I couldn't get over the little voice in my head telling me that that person I had just seen, was here to help me. There was only one thing that was on my mind as I slipped into a state of unconciousness. He was not a pirate.

 _Zuko Pov_

I stood as still as stone as soon as the darkness had covered me. I listened for a moment, hoping to pick up on a noise that would guide me to Katara. I had seen Katara lying on the floor and a pirate beside her before it went dark, but I needed to wait to figure out which direction they were going. I crept forward a little when I heard heavy footsteps and then stopped when there was a sound I couldn't quite place. A small scratching sound.

Realization hit me and I swiftly ducked for cover as a match was lit and was fed to the wick of a pathetic candle. The room was illuminated now, destroying my dark cloak.

 _I need to be extra careful..._

I peeked over a wooden crate full of mangos, when I heard the footsteps again. I was just in time to see the rather bulky pirate rattling a door handle and then pushing open the big wooden door. He dragged Katara inside the room lit only by moonlight from an open window. I expepcted the door to shut on its own since it looked so heavy, but it remained open. I stayed behind my cover and listened.

The first thing I heard was a stiff jingle. I realized that he must have a ring of keys.

I wanted to see what he was doing, so I crept out from behind my hiding spot and darted behind some barrels, anterior to the room. I could now see him as he selected a key and stuck it inside a big padlock looped around the bars of a large metal cage. I could also see a variety of animals that were caged up in the dank room. There were toad parrots, peacock mice, fancy deer rats, and other small animals.

As much as I hated to watch it, I waited until the pirate had shoved Katara inside the cage and relocked it. He got to his feet again and reatched the ring of keys to his belt. He exited the room and shut the door behind him. He turned to lock it up, but before he could, I leapt over the barrels and repeated the move I had pulled on the other pirate earlier. This pirate however didn't fall like the other one.

His back went strait and he turned slowly to look at me. He towered over me by at least a foot, leaving me frozen for a second as I tried to sketch out my next mover. I didn't want to make a mess and I needed to stay quiet.

Thinking quickly, I pulled my swords from their sheath and together, I landed the ends of the hand grips on top of his head. He stared at me for a second and then lifted his fists.

I backed up until I was up against the barrels. When I did, I felt something slosh inside them. I dared to look down at them.

 _Blasting jelly, huh. That might come in handy._

The pirate then advanced on me. Thinking quickly, I dropped my swords and pulled my mask off my face. The pirate stopped when he saw my face.

"No... no it can-"

"Sweet dreams," I whispered, swiftly grabbing his head and clunking mine against his. He staggered backwards and fell to the ground unconcious.

"Oww," I moaned rubbing my forehead. I hadn't considered how much that would hurt. That would probably leave a lovely bruise.

I grabbed my mask of the floor and resheathed my swords before approaching the pirate and slipping his keys from the loop on his belt. "Thanks."

Before going into the other room, I shoved the large pirate behind the blasting jelly barrels so if anyone came down here they wouldn't suspect anything. Or least I hoped.

I took a good look at those barrels again. I slowly formed an idea of how to put these pirates out of business for good. It was risky though. I needed to get Katara out of here first.

I opened the big wooden door with some difficulty and stumbled inside the room. Moonlight streamed into the room from a small barred window just below the ceiling. I approached the cage and knelt down beside it to look at Katara.

She was lying on her side with her hands bound behind her back. Some of her chocolate hair had been tugged from it's tight braid and hung across her face. Her sky blue dress had a rip at the bottom of the skirt and one of her sleeves was slipping off her shoulder. Her eyes were still closed, but she didn't look peaceful like one does when their sleeping. This proved that even in her most vurnable state, she still knew that she was in trouble. The last thing I noticed was a dark spot blooming on her almost exposed shoulder. I scowled.

 _They did hurt her._

Setting my mask aside, I took up the ring of keys and began to try each of them in the big lock. I was unaware though, that the amount of rattling the keys were making was arousing the dramatized girl.

 _Katara Pov_

I closed my eyes tightly as a clinking sound, like metal against metal, sounded unwanted in my ears. I moaned and tried to get my arms under me so I could push myself up, but they stubbornly refused to respond.

Instead, I leaned back and forth to create a little momentum that gave enough movement to roll onto my back. My eyes shot open when I heard a small gasp. I looked to where the sound had come from and saw before me the person whom I had seen before I blacked out. I could tell it was him because of his distinct mask and dark clothing. But the mask was not fastened to his face. I looked up into his frozen face through the metal bars and noticed a very large scar on the left side of his face. No... no it couldn't be.

"Juko?" I said through the waded cloth in my mouth.

His eyes widdened a bit when he realized that I couldn't speak clearly. Hesitantly, he reached a hand through the bars of the cage and pulled the cloth from my mouth.

I coughed as saliva moistened my mouth again. He only watched me with big, uncertain golden eyes. "Thank you... Zuko."

He only blinked uncertainly at me.

I stared at him for a moment and then shifted my gaze to where the ring of keys were hanging from the big padlock that had me trapped in this cage. My eyes flickered back to his. "Are you... helping me?"

He blinked again and then nodded slowly.

"Why? Last I checked, we're enemies."

His eyes froze onto her and she figured he was thinking about something very seriously.

 _It just doesn't make any sense? Of all people, why would Zuko choose to help me? The Zuko who chased us, the Zuko who belongs to the Fire Nation, the Zuko whom I hate for everything his stupid, war-loving nation has done to me and my friends and my family. He should be punished for everything he has done and I know one day he will! ...Wait a second. It's not... his fault his nation did all those things. Is it? Those are their actions, not his. His ancestors don't define him. It's not right to judge him. Argh! That still doesn't answer why he's helping me!_

"I... don't know," he said quietly. "I guess I just felt that them taking you like that, was an injustice. I don't know what I was thinking, I just..."

I waited for him to finish. I could plainly tell he was feeling a little awkward and uncertain about his actions. "Unfortunately, your wrong. They kind of have the right to do this." I sighed. "Remember that scroll you almost burned about a month ago?"

 _Zuko Pov_

My mind shot back in time to that night when I had tied this same girl to a tree and threatened the lives of her friends. A feeling of guilt bloomed inside of me. "Yeah," I responded quietly as I glanced sideways to avoid making eye contact with her.

"I stole that scroll from the pirates when I figured out that they had probably stolen it from a waterbender. They may have even killed him just to get their hands on it. I felt so angry that it had been taken from my own people, no matter if they came from the North or the South." She paused here and an air of guilt entered her voice. "It was also my only chance to learn real waterbending."

I looked at her, unsure of what to say in response. _Was this all really about justice?_ "Do you still have it?"

The waterbender shivered as a chilly ocean breeze blew in from the window. "No it's gone," she replied despairingly, with a small shake of her head. "I lost it last week when we were being chased by Fire Nation soldiers."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I bet even if you had given it to them you would still be down here."

Katara nodded as she tried to sit up a bit. I saw her flinch once when she moved her bruised shoulder. "I admit I went to far by stealing that dumb scroll." She slipped and fell back onto her side. She winched and then said, "I... I think they want more than just that scroll back after all the problems I caused them." She paused as a shadow fell over her face. "I think they want me dead."

Her dark words sent chills up and down my spine. _Dead? That's going a little to far._ I glanced back down at the big lock. I frowned with a new determination and set my hands back to work. _I have to get her out of here. Even if it's the last thing I do._

I felt Katara's eyes on me. "Zuko you should get out of here. Leave before they find you. They'll only kill you too," she prompted, trying to get up again.

I kept my eyes on lock and key. "Since when do you care if I die?"

Katara grinned a little as she managed to sit up. "True. Fine. Stay and die."

I smiled without looking up. "As you wish. Besides, I've got a plan that will put these pirates out of buisness permanetley."

"Oh? What would that be?" she asked scooting a little closer to the cage door.

"Once I get you out of here and you'll find out." Just then, I turned the sixth key in the lock and it open with a click. I tossed the keys aside and slipped the lock off the bars. I opened the door and Katara slipped out of the cage. She stood up a bit wobbly.

"Ready?"

Katara nodded and took a small step forward. She tripped though and my arms went out instinctively to catch her. I pushed her back onto her feet. "Are you ok?"

She nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Well that sure is a relief to hear. Means you'll look nice and pretty for your funeral at dawn."

The teens whipped their heads around toward the doorway to face the figure of the looming pirate Captain.

 _Katara Pov_

"Hey! Get your hands off me, you slime balls!" I screamed as two pirates grabbed me and tied my hands behind my back.

Zuko pulled his twin broad swords from behind him and pointed them at the Captain. "Let her go!"

The Captain glared at Zuko. "Pest. I should have know you'd interfer with my plans sooner or later."

"I said, let her go," Zuko growled behind clenched teeth.

"Not until she gives me back my scroll!"

"I told you!" I said as I struggled against the pirates holding me. "I don't have it!"

The Captain turned to me and slapped me across the face again to shut me up. I felt my cheek starting to burn all over again. "You lost it wench, your gonna die for it."

"What about your stupid reward? You need me to get your money, remember."

The Capatain stood straight. "I've had enough of you. I want you gone and out of my way. Plus, with your attitude, no one will ever want you as a servent."

Just then, a growl escaped Zuko's throat and he leapt forward at the treacherous pirate. But the Captain turned around just in time to catch the banished Fire Prince by the throat. Zuko's swords fell from his hands. He instantly began to grip at the Captain's tight hand around his neck.

"Zuko!" I cried as I watched him struggle.

The Captain's eyes widden with realization and then narrowed as a new smirk came across his lips. "Well pretty boy, what are you doing here anyways? Trying to save the life of this little water tribe brat? A little low for a prince, don't you think?" the Captain said in a low, curdling voice.

I made another vain effort to get away from the other pirates. "Please, let him go!" I cried as Zuko fought hard for air. "He doesn't have anything to do with this! It's me you want, so hurt me and just let him go!"

Zuko was clawing desperately at the hand wrapped around his throat now as he tried to receive oxygen into his lungs again.

"As you wish missy! Looks like we'll have a funeral tonight, boys!" the pirate said, releasing Zuko. He fell to the ground and rolled onto his back as his burning lungs filled with air. The Captain sneered and turned towards me. "Hurting you instead of him won't save his life, only save him from suffering. Replacing his suffering with your suffering won't be to difficult." He looked at the pirates holding me. "Take her to my chambers."

I gasped and then forced myself to swallow. _Please... no..._

Zuko was still lying on the floor gasping for air. He forced himself to roll over onto his stomach. "Katara..." he groaned reaching a hand toward me. "I... I will-" he coughed and tried again to get up. "I will... come after you... always."

I blinked back tears as his words sunk heavily into my heart. "Zuko..."

"Ha! So your a hero now?" the Captain jeered. "Cute. Tie him up outside my room. You both die at dawn."

I cast one more forlorn look at Zuko, before one of the pirates roughly dragged me out of the room.

 _(A/N: This part of the story has been cut out. **It is not** irrelevant to the story and the happenings do cause issues and things to happen in the future. Here is a clean summary if you wish to know. ~ So basically the Captain has brief unwanted relations with a freaked out Katara, after he makes two large cuts in each of Katara's thighs with a dagger. As written before, Zuko is tied up outside the room. He hears her cries for help and burns through the rope. He bursts into the room and tackles the Captain. They fight while Katara collects herself. Zuko accidentaly kills the Captain as Katara manages to get her wrappings and dress back on. Before she can grab her pants or shoes, Zuko picks her up and sets his escape plan into action.~ If you wish to read this part I will be putting it up in a separate section as soon as I can.)_

 _Katara Pov_

Zuko ran down a short hallway that led up to the deck. When we reached the end of it, we discovered a door that had been left partly open.

Zuko stopped before the cracked door and gently set me down on my feet. "You still ok?"

I was still clutching onto his shirt for dear life. "It's just my legs. I'll be ok though. A few healing sessions and they'll be as good as new."

"Good." He glanced through the crack in the door and then looked at me with sparkling, but worried eyes. "Katara, remember how I said I have a way out of here along with a way to get rid of these pirates for good?"

I looked up at him and nodded.

"We can do this and be out of here quickly. The only thing I need, is for you to trust me."

I gazed into his earnest eyes. "A few days ago I would have never considered trusting you. But... with everything you've done for me... Zuko, you saved me. I trust you with my life."

He blinked. "Really?" he asked in a genuinely suprised voice.

I smiled and wrapped my arms up and around his back. "Yes. I trust you."

He froze for a moment at my sudden show of trust, but eventually hugged me back. He then breifly explained his plan to me. "Got it?"

I scratched my nose. "I think so. ...Are you still sure this will work?"

Zuko sighed heavily. "For our sake Katara, I hope it does."

The plan was good, but prehaps a little to... elaborate and risky for me. Zuko told me about the barrels of blasting jelly he found outside the room I had been locked up in. He explained how he could easily ignite the contents with a strong blast of fire. The jelly would blow up the ship and it would go down. I winced at the thought of more people dying, but who knows how many other lives these pirates have wrecked and how many we could save if we at least put them out of buisness. They might even turn over a new leaf when they found out they had lost their Captain and were going to very soon lose their ship.

My part in this slightly insane plan was to ride piggy-back on Zuko, put my upmost confidence in his judgement, and waterbend an iceberg for us once we were off the ship.

"But Zuko, the rag that I had stuffed in my mouth had a herb in it that blocks my bending."

Zuko checked the door again to sure no one was coming. "How do you know that?"

I looked over my shoulder and down the hall from which we had come from. "One of the pirates told me," I replied with a shiver.

"You'll find a way around it. It may have worn off by now."

I was silent for a moment. "Ok. I'll do what I can."

Zuko looked away from. I saw flames dancing in his eyes. Flames that sent a message of regret to me. "What's wrong?"

He sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Katara, I'm so sorry I didn't get in there sooner."

I looked away and shook my head. "Don't worry about it. You've done enough for me already."

Zuko nodded and checked the door again. A pirate came up out of a door and walked to the middle of the deck. Zuko instantly recognized the black sheath strapped over the pirates shoulder.

"He's got my swords," he growled. "Ready to go, Katara?"

I hesitated and then nodded. "I guess so. Can you judge where the barrels are from on the deck?"

Zuko turned his back to me and squatted down. "I'll do my best. I may have to guess a few times," he replied with a smug grin.

I climbed onto his back and he tucked his hands under my legs before standing up. I winced as the pressure against my wounds.

"Sorry. You ok?" Zuko asked worriedly.

I stabled myself by holding onto his shoulder's. "I'll be ok."

"Alright. Just hold on and let me do the talking. And if you get scared... just close your eyes, hold tight, and try not to choke me. Got it?" Zuko instructed.

I swallowed and lay my head on the back of his neck. "Yeah."

 _Zuko Pov_

I opened the door and locked my gaze on the pirate with my swords. "Hey! I think you've got something of mine there. Mind giving it back," I asked in carefree tone.

The pirate looked over at us. A look of suprise crossed his face before he sneered at me and began shouting to the other pirates that we had escaped. I charged and snatched my swords away from him. I quickly slung it over my shoulder as the rest of the crew surrounded us. Their swords were out and their faces were angry. They wanted a fight.

I felt Katara squeeze me closer to her as she buried her face into the back of my shirt.

"Whatcha gonna do now, pretty boy?" one of the pirates sneered.

"Give us the girl and surrender or your really gonna regret crossing paths with us."

I tightened my hold on Katara, but not so much as to possibly cause her any more pain. "I already do."

The first pirate to speak growled and raised his sword to us. The point of it gleamed sharply in the beams of moonlight. "Last chance, you sad excuse for a prince. Surrender."

I clicked my tongue, a signal to Katara that she needed to hold on to me by herself. She slowly wrapped her legs all the way around my torso.

"Your times up, boy," the pirate said in a sinister tone with a toothy smile. He raised his sword in the air and prepared to strike.

I ripped my arms away from Katara and quickly summoned every ounce of chi inside of me as I could. I guided it to my hands and then plunged my fists into the deck.

Fire erupted all around us. The pirates were thrown backwards by the blast and a few of them were even cast overboard. The pirates that hadn't been flung off the ship, instantly sought for higher ground as my flames began to tear the deck apart.

I kept pouring out fire into the ship, all the while praying to Agni that it would find it's way to the blasting jelly.

Then, in the midst of the action, I felt Katara's warm breath on my ear. "Zuko... I'm scared..." she whispered in my ear.

I swallowed. "It's ok, Katara. I've almost got it. Just hold on and remember what I told you. Close your eyes and concentrate on my heat."

I felt her nod and then place her cheek against the back of my neck. "Ok."

She jerked a little in suprise as boards began to fly up from the deck as I continued to press fire into the ship. Then there was loud crack. I ceased my fire.

"Hold on Katara!" I shouted as I stood up again. She tightened her hold me. Once I felt she had a good grip on me, I spread my palms face downward and poured more flames from them. It took a couple seconds, but we eventually became airborn and I was able to jet us up into the sky using firepower from my feet too.

Below us, two more cracks were heard and then with a bright explosion, the whole ship exploded into a blaze of flames, splinters, and smoke.

 _Katara Pov_

I stared down at the ship. The image of flames and sparks danced in my crystal eyes as I clung to Zuko. If there was anyone still aboard that ship when it exploded, they were now dead. At least the Captain went down with it.

"Katara, my flames can't hold us up here much longer," Zuko said. "I'm gonna try to lower us into the ocean. Get ready to make that iceberg."

I nodded, but kept the fear of my temporary inability to waterbend to myself. _You can do this, Katara. You have to do this._

Suddenly, Zuko jerked and his flames sputtered.

"Zuko! Uh- Are you ok? What's wrong?" I cried.

"We might be falling a little bit. Just hang on," Zuko grunted as he desperately tried to keep his balance. But the effort was in vain.

His flames sputtered again and his feet lost their fuel. A few seconds later, the flames from his hands went out. We floated for half a second and then we began to plummet to the ocean. As the seconds went by, we fell faster and faster. Zuko quickly manuvered me off his back and brought me in front of him. He held me against him and whispered, "It's up to you now."

We hit the water and went under. I blanked for a moment as the cold water engulfed us, startling my mind. Zuko still had me crushed to him. After I blinked a few times to get my brain back in action, I pried myself out of his hold and took his cold hand in mine. Then, with low hopes, I lifted my hand above me and ordered the water to freeze into a block. To my suprise and delight, the water did exactly what I wanted.

With Zuko's hand still grasped tightly in mine, I waterbended us up to the surface. I instantly turned to Zuko to make sure he was ok. "Zuko! Zuko, are you ok?"

As soon as he came above the water, he opened his eyes and sucked in a large breath. "Yeah, I'm-" he stopped and coughed up some water. "I'm ok."

We were both shivering violently as we climbed up onto the iceberg.

"Good job, Katara. I knew you could do it," Zuko said in an exhausted voice.

I sat up and bent the water out of my hair and clothes. "Thank you."

"Just a matter of belief," he said as he sat up too.

I shook my head and then bent the frigid water from him too. "No, thank you."

"For what?" he asked as he cocked his head.

"For coming after me, getting me out of the cage, sticking up for me, saving me from the Captain, and getting me away from the other pirates. Zuko, you saved my life many times tonight. I am..." tears leaked from my eyes. Tears I hadn't realized I had been holdidng back. "I forgive you."

 _Zuko Pov_

She... forgives me? "Katara... I am not worthy of forgiveness. Not after everything I did to you and your friends."

She shook her head again and scooted up next to me. "Everyone is worthy of forgivness."

It took me a moment, but the thought that anyone could be forgiven filled me with a strong hope. I smiled softly and slipped an arm around her shivering shoulders. "Thank you. I'm glad someone else besides Uncle understands me."

She smiled too and curled up against me for warmth. "I'm glad Zuko."

Within a matter of minutes the little waterbender had fallen asleep on me. Shortly, I followed her.

 _The next morning..._

I awoke with a start to Katara roughly shaking me and calling my name. I opened my eyes and then shut them again as sunlight pierced my vision. I rubbed my eyes as Katara started talking to me.

"Oh good, your awake," she breathed. "I thought you might have been dead for a moment."

I rapidly blinked my eyes so they could adjust to the light. "Don't worry. I'm alive."

Katara looked behind her and groaned. She lifted her hands with her fingers splayed and then moved them in unison upward. Water rose up from the ocean and froze onto the iceberg that we were floating on. Wait a second? Iceberg?!

I got to my feet and looked around.

There was nothing but water. Blue, crystal, salty water and not a speck of land to be seen. The remins of the pirate ship from last night were nowhere to be found and the dock it had come from had completely vanished. "Crap," I muttered, running my fingers through my hair.

Katara glanced at me and opened her mouth to say something, but noticed another melting spot and quickly moved her hands to fix it. "The iceberg was really small this morning. It was lucky we fell asleep in the middle of it," she said quietly. "I've been refreezing parts of it all morning."

I turned to her. "I'm sorry. I should have found a way back last night. We're completely lost," I replied. "And it's all my fault."

Katara refroze one more spot and then turned to me. "Hey," she said softly, resting her hand on my tense shoulder. "This is not your fault. We are in this together. We'll figure something out. It will be ok."

Her words were comforting, but I couldn't still help but feel at fault for being stuck in the middle of the ocean. I turned my face from her so she couldn't see the angry tears forming in my eyes.

"I trust that this will all end with us alive," she said in a comforting tone as she patted my arm.

I sniffed and then placed a hand on her head. Her tangled hair felt somehow soft under my hand and I noticed for the first time how much more grown up and mature she looked with her wavy chocolate hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back. "Alright... your right." I looked down at her face and smiled as confidently as I could. "I trust too."

She brightly smiled back and then returned to refreezing parts of the iceberg with were thawing repeatedly under the hot sun.

 _That night..._

I glanced up at the sky as the thin clouds began fade, revealing the full night sky with it's glowing stars. I had kind of learned how to read thd stars and navigate by them from Uncle during the three years I spent searching for the Avatar at sea. I hadn't been especially interested in his lessons at the time because I knew I would never need them and that I was just wasting my time. However, Uncle insisted that I learn, so I amused him and sat through the boring lessons hardly listening. Now I was relieved that I had bothered to pay some attention. The stars could not only tells us where we were but also which way to go to get back. I just needed to remember how it worked.

"Well I think the iceberg will be ok until morning," Katara announced as she sat down next to me.

I kept my eyes on the sky. "That's good."

She leaned on me a little for warmth as the night chilly began to blow through our clothing. The poor thing had been working all day to maintain the state of our raft. Literally every two minutes she was onto the next spot.

"I'm glad your not the bad guy anymore. Your actually... really nice. And I never realized you had feelings," Katara said absentmindedly.

At this, I turned to look at her. "Oh thanks. I guess I'm just relieved your not a total jerk."

She sat up and gave me an annoyed look. "Hey!"

"You kinda came off that way when I fought you," I replied with a shrug.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Your the jerk." She sighed and leaned backwards, supporting herself with her arms. "So. Figured out where we are yet?"

I looked back up at the sky and sighed. "Not yet. My Uncle taught me how the read the stars, but it's been a while since I've practiced. I'm still a little fuzzy."

She patted my arm. "You'll figure it out. I know you will."

After a few minutes of staring at the stars, I decided that we were somewhere off the coast of the Earth Kingdom. As for the direction in which we should be heading, I was drawing a blank. Begrudgingly, I told Katara what I had found.

She was quiet for a moment before she said anything. "Well, I guess there's not much else we can do."

I sighed. All day she had been holding back her stress and frustration. She knew she needed to stay calm and appear so, so I could concentrate. "Katara..."

She blinked and scooted closer to me. I looked into her eyes for a moment and then pulled her into a hug. "You can let it out now."

She was still for second and then she started to shake. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face into my salt scented shirt. Her sobbs were loud and real. I knew her pain very well. The pain of losing everything you've known without you even realizing it and then it's gone before you can say goodbye.

I rubbed circles into her back. "It's ok. Just let it out."

She cried until she lost her breath and was forced to stop. She sucked in a big breath and hiccuped. "Do you think we'll be stuck out here forever?" she asked triedly.

She shivered and I gently pulled her closer to me. The cold was getting to us and it didn't help that we were suck on an iceberg. "I hope not Katara."

She curled in on herself and nestled her head against my chest. Her breathing evened out and she eventually fell asleep.

I moved her to the middle of the iceberg so when it melted in the morning, we wouldn't end up in the cold water. I sighed despairingly as I lay down with Katara curled up against me. We were lost at sea and I was helpless to do anything but watch and wait. Patience had never been one of my strong points. I didn't know what was coming next and I didn't know if I would ever get Katara back to her friends. I was even having doubts that I would ever seen my Uncle again. All I knew was that I was going to protect Katara and take care for her until we found them again.

 _End of Part I~_

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 **There you have the first part! Thanks so much for reading, I would love to hear what you think. Please no nasty flames. I love correction as to how I can better my writing, but I do not need your hate. I will work on fixing up the extra section that I cut out so guys can read it.**


	2. Part 2 (1) A New Friend

_**Hey all! I really want to apologize for this taking me forever. Sorry! I had a busy and rough summer and just managed to finish this part up a few days ago. I uh also realized that Part 2 was going to be really freaking long so I'm splitting part to up into 2 sections. Big documents freak out my technology and also it overwhelms me so that's why. Heh don't judge me! Anyways here ya go. Part 2 (1)!**_

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Lost at Sea ~Part 2 (1)

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 _All these years I have been alone, isolated from the world only because the spirits saw my life as pathetic and useless. The world is cruel and I hate it. However, it is my element and it has sheltered me and provided me with food in my solitude. I have managed to survive in my solitude and for that I am thankful. I suppose it is not the world I hate, but how it deals out fate to us simple humans. Are we toys to them? Is one to simply be handed a wealthy, fruitful life while another is to suffer and fight to stay alive? Maybe it depends on how strong they see the human. Am I too strong for them or too weak? Maybe the lucky ones are the strong ones because I am weak. I guess none of it really matters now. I am cursed for life and will probably die here on this island in everlasting loneliness..._

* * *

 ** _Katara Pov_**

We floated on the iceberg for two more days with no sight of any land or ship. I woke early both mornings to keep the ice from melting under the intense heat of the sun and disintegrating into the ocean. Our situation was almost as bad as being stranded out in the middle of a desert. The only differences were that we were surrounded by water and we had a chance at obtaining food. The water was by no means great, but I was able to extract most of the salt, making it at least bearable to drink. Our only option for food was to catch fish. I could easily trap a fish with my waterbending and Zuko could fry it with his firebending. That was the easy part. The hard part was actually finding a fish. Over the span of the two days we spent floating helplessly in the middle of the ocean, I only caught three fish about eight inches long. They were pathetic, but it was better than nothing. Both nights we went to sleep with our stomachs screaming for food.

I was surprised that Zuko and I didn't end up fighting. After all, we had practically everything to blame each other for. I could stand here and say that this was his entire fault and he never should have gotten involved. He would probably say something to perfectly deflect me like I would have been dead by now without his help. However, we remained silent towards one another for the most part. Zuko was convinced that we were going to perish out here either by drowning or starvation, but I reassured him many times that that was not going to happen. I could see the uncertainty behind his eyes though. He didn't know what was going to happen to us and it was plain to see that that fact bothered him a great deal.

My legs had stopped bleeding not long after I had tied them up on the pirate ship. Even though it made my legs feel fuzzy and weak, I made sure to tie my bandages tight and keep off my legs as much as possible. I tried healing them with the salt water, but it stung like crazy. It made my whole leg jolt, causing the wound to reopen a little. It bled some, so I tied it up again as quickly as I could. I was going to try healing it with water that was filtered, but when I unwrapped the bandage later, it started bleeding again. I decided that I would have to leave it alone for a while before trying anymore healing.

Our clothes were already getting holes, no thanks to the salt water and sun. Zuko had already discarded his black long sleeve shirt because it was way too hot to wear. Now his back and shoulders were sunburnt and peeling. So every afternoon, I would rub ice on him to cool his skin off and relieve him of some of the pain I knew he was hiding. He hated it, but I didn't know what else to do to keep him from getting completely charred from the relentless rays of the sun. I tried a few times to get him to put his shirt back on, but he stubbornly refused and eventually got so mad that he flung out into the water. Our lips were chapped and our skin was dry from the saltwater. It was all slowly becoming more and more torturous.

At night, Zuko continued to try and read the stars when the sky was clear of clouds, but every time he ended up melting part of the iceberg because he would heat up so much from all his frustration. I tried to encourage him in hopes of him remembering what he had learned from his Uncle.

Our second night out in the ocean, I sat down next to Zuko in the center of the iceberg. He had his legs drawn into his chest and his arms wrapped around his knees with his face buried in the hole it created.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered almost inaudibly.

I sighed heavily and placed my thin hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "It's ok. Please try not to be so hard on yourself."

He said nothing and jerked his shoulder, causing me to retreat my hand. I sighed and folded my hands in my lap. I gazed around at the dark water of the sea and then looked down at the ice I was sitting on. The stars above reflected in it in the most beautiful way. They twinkled and danced making the ice sparkle in the darkness. "Look at the ice," I whispered to Zuko, even though it felt like I had directed the request at someone else.

He was still for a moment, but he eventually lifted his head just enough so his eyes could peer over his knees at the ice. I dared to look his way. I drew in a quick breath when I saw the ice contrasting in the most magnificent way with his sunset gold eyes. _Fire and ice. I never realized that they looked so good together._

We curled up on the ice that night slightly delirious from lack of everything as we prayed for death or deliverance. I will never forget how hungry I was that night. I could have sworn my stomach started eating itself. We both quickly passed out, exhausted from forcing ourselves to stay alive.

°○•●°•○°○•●°○•

 _Crack!_

A flash of blue light and a loud sound made me sit bolt upright. I was shocked to find myself drenched from head to toe and the wind blowing strong gusts of air mixed with water in my face. The ocean was in an uproar.

I quickly flashed back to all the terrible storms I had seen when I was a little girl in the South Pole. I had seen angry waves and heavy downpours, but nothing like this. This was the worst storm I had ever seen. Rain was dumping mercilessly from the sky into the raging, dark blue ocean. The wind was blowing rain everywhere and the waves toyed with our little iceberg, rocking us back and forth.

I jumped when I felt something grip my hand. I turned to see Zuko looking at me with intense eyes.

"Are you ok?" he shouted over the howl of the wind.

"I'm alright!" I shouted back.

Reassured, Zuko released my hand and tried to stand up, but was unable to get a bearing. "This is ridiculous! How can this storm get any worse?"

"I think it's only just getting started!"

I was kneeling next to the firebender and was only able to stay on the ice by digging my fingernails into it. I slid to face the center of what was left of our iceberg. Suddenly an idea popped into my head. I turned back to look at Zuko. "Hold me down!"

"What?" he yelled as he edged closer to me so he could hear.

"Hold me down to the ice!"

He gave me a funny look as if he wasn't sure he felt comfortable doing what I had asked. Thankfully, a flash and a clap of thunder changed his mind and he did as I wished. Once I felt secure, I lifted my hands and captured some of the rain into a big blob of water. I touched it down to the middle of the iceberg and then, with a quick flick of my fingers, I froze it solid.

"Hang onto this!" I shouted over my shoulder.

Zuko released me and we slid over to the lump of ice on our hands and knees. We grabbed hold and I prayed hard that it would stay secure until the storm passed.

"When do you think it will calm down?" Zuko asked loudly as we rode over another angry wave.

I looked out at the stormy ocean and shook my head. "I'm not sure! I've seen crazy storms, but never anything like this!"

Zuko opened his mouth to shout his reply, when the ink black sky suddenly lit up for one second and then an earsplitting boom filled the air the next. It surprised me so much that I let out a little terrified scream.

"Hey! You ok?!" Zuko asked, sliding closer to me.

I nodded as I clung tighter to the ice. "Yeah, it just surprised me!"

I closed my eyes and tried to shut it all out. _Being stuck out in the middle of the ocean was already bad enough! I honestly didn't think it could possibly get any worse!_

Then, something with calming warmth, made my whole world dive into slow motion as it spread across my back. I was quickly plunged back into reality though, when I saw an arm cross in front of me. I looked up and turned my head to see Zuko shielding me from the storm.

"Zuko wha-!"

"Just hang on, ok! The last thing I need is for you to get tossed into the ocean!"

I pursed my lips in frustration. _I don't need him protecting me all over again. I can look out for myself!_

But I didn't shove. I wanted to yell at him. I wanted to toss him into the raging ocean. But that wouldn't solve anything. I would only end up regretting it for the rest of my life.

Just then, we surfed up on a huge wave. I could feel the air and rain rushing past my face. When reached the top, gravity worked its strange magic and we plummeted down back into the ocean. We went under for a moment, but resurfaced quickly. We bobbed on top of the ocean for a moment and I was starting to think the worst was over. However, not long after we had come back up, another wave crashed over us and the force of it pushed me sideways and I hit my head hard on the ice. Pain shot through my skull and I felt my senses dim. The crashing waves and stormy sky slowly started to blend and fade to black. I could hear Zuko calling my name. I tried desperately to respond, but I couldn't. Everything faded away rapidly and I was certain I was going to die.

°○•●°•○°○•●°○•

 ** _Zuko Pov_**

 _I never could recall much of that storm that horrible night after Katara hit her head on the ice. As the ocean continued to rage around us, I was plunged into something of dream or a state of shock that made the world around me fuzzy and dim. Almost as if... the world didn't exist anymore or it had lost it's meaning. Like everything had suddenly become purposeless. It felt as though the world had become black and white, but the shades of gray mixed in made everything unclear and blurred._

 _I had tried to wake the waterbender, but she had gone limp in my arms. I saw a little bit of red trickle down the side of her head and drip off her temple. The ringing in my ears got louder as the rain poured down even harder. My vision had slowly become more and more clouded as my eyes filled with tears. I never could remember why I had cried. Maybe I had been scared. Not for myself, of course, but for Katara._

 _The waves crashed around a bit more and then the ocean must have finally decided it was finished with us, because I remember being jerked and feeling as though I was explainable weightless. The sensation of flying only lasted for a second because something hit me and I suddenly felt cold and heavy. My feet could no longer feel a surface. I tried to kick my legs to resist the awful weight, but I only continued to sink. Then, just when I felt as though I would continue falling forever, something soft and warm hit my face and skin. It wasn't a hot warmth that startled your senses, but a relaxing, neutral warmth that promised everything was going to be alright. I felt the weight that had been causing me to sink before roll away, allowing the overpowering warmth to completely encase me. The warmth gently lulled me into a deep sleep that was comfortable, peaceful, and needed._

My head was swimming as I squeezed my eyes tight shut against the harsh, bombarding rays of sunlight coming through my eyelids. I was sore and very stiff, so I shifted a little and realized that I was no longer laying on the cold, smooth surface of the iceberg. No, this stuff was rough, itchy, and very uncomfortable. It felt grainy too. It had already gotten under my clothes and was chaffing my skin.

I rolled off my side and onto my back to let the warm sun cloak my body. I forced my eyes open a tad only to see the bright blue sky that was completely cloudless. It hurt my eyes, but it was nice to see the clear blue sky again.

I opened my mouth to take in a deep breath, but when I felt something hitch in my throat, I quickly sat up to cough the sea water out of my lungs. I coughed harshly for a few seconds and then cleared my throat to be sure it was all out. I tried breathing again, and was able to with ease, as I sat back on my hands. That was when I noticed the new and completely unexpected scenery surrounding me.

The sparkling blue ocean lay vast and open in front of me and to my right and left stretched the shore. As for distinct features, there were coconut trees here and there on the sand and a cluster of big rocks to my right about a five minutes' walk away.

I could hardly believe my eyes. I slowly got to my feet and dusted the sand off my hands and chest. I spun around, and to my amazement, saw lots of tall tropical trees and big rock formations decorating low hills and tall cliffs. _An island. We've washed up on an island._

I looked to my left again and noticed Katara for the first time on the shore a few feet away from where I was standing. She was sprawled out on her back in the sand sleeping peacefully. Her clothes were damp like mine and her long wavy hair was everywhere. A couple of strands were even stuck to her forehead. She was little thinner too, I noticed, but then again, I probably was as well.

I trotted over to where she was and knelt down beside her. Her face looked so serene, despite the nasty cut on her forehead and her wild hair. This was the first time I had actually seen her sleeping without the pain of hunger and her legs on her mind. I almost didn't want to wake her.

I looked up again and found the sun was past its peak point in the sky. "It's past mid-day," I commented absentmindedly. "It will be dark with the next couple of hours."

We had to get moving and find shelter before it got too dark. I had no desire to find out if there were any species of carnivorous animals on this island just sitting and waiting for things like us in the open to creep up on and attack. Having little interest in being dinner, I returned my focus to Katara. I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Hey Katara. Wake up," I called. Her head bobbed back and forth quite a bit with my shaking, but she didn't open her eyes. "Come on, wake up."

With no result, I released her shoulders and she dropped back onto the sand. I sat back on my heels and ran my hand through my growing dark, brown hair. _This is a big problem. If I can't get her to wake up, I'm stuck in the open until she does and there is no way we can afford to wait around here for however long that will be._

I looked back at the jungle behind us and decided that I would have to take a chance and go in there in hopes of finding something to shelter us. Standing up, I went back to where I had woken up to retrieve my dual swords. It was a pure miracle that I still had them and they had remained in their sheath. Strapping them over my shoulder, I turned back to Katara and leaned over to scoop my arms under her legs and upper back. I hoisted her up against my chest and readjusted my arms so her weight was balanced in my grasp.

She was light. So very light and warm from lying on the sand under the brilliant sun. Her hands rested unfolded in her lap and her head dropped onto my bare shoulder. I felt a little uncomfortable at our faces being this close, but I knew there was no other option for transporting her right now. She was easy to carry and there was no way I was going to leave her to wake up to me being nowhere to be found or at the snapping jaws of some wild animal. It would kill me if she were to get hurt again unnecessarily.

Swallowing what little saliva I had in my mouth to wet my dry throat, I turned and began my trek into the jungle. The beach had been scattered with a few coconut trees here and there, but the trees in the jungle consisted of more than just coconut trees. I saw multiple ferns and tall palms and other trees that were big and thick and had lots of greenery growing out of and on them. Moss had collected on the ground and had begun to make its way up onto the base of some of the trees. Vines were crawling everywhere. Up trees, across trees, over the ground, and up on rocks.

On occasion, I would stumble over a root or a rock and come close to dropping Katara and falling face first into the damp terrain. Thankfully though, I was quick to regain my balance and keep on walking. I pushed past thick wads of vines that would hang down from tall trees and climb over rocks that barricaded my path. A few times the vines got so intense, that I would have to set Katara down next to a tree and take the next ten minutes or so to hack through them with my swords.

I had been walking for around a two to three hours, when I came across an apple banana tree. Thrilled and relieved at the sight of food, I set Katara down beside a big tree and plucked a bunch off the fruit tree that look about ripe. I then hastily, but thoroughly ate through the whole bunch. I went back to the tree and pulled off another bunch of the fruit. I knew that when Katara woke up, she would be hungry.

Deciding it was a good time for a rest, I dropped down next to Katara. I pressed my back against the tree trunk and breathed a heavy sigh. Glancing upward through a crack in the foliage above us, I noticed that the sunlight was growing weaker. "Suns going down," I said to myself. I looked over at Katara. She still looked peaceful in her sleep. I was glad and actually quite relieved that she was resting this long. We had both had had a lack of it, and plenty of other things. Looking at her, I got the desire to sleep as well. I was exhausted from carrying her all afternoon, even though she weighed less, and hacking through vines. That kind of labor takes a toll on someone, especially if their body is already weak and tired.

 _No I can't go to sleep yet. The sunlight will be gone soon. I need to find shelter or some sort of high ground for us to sleep._ My eyes shifted upward to the tree me and Katara were leaning against and I noticed that the nearest branch was about eight feet up from the ground. Many more branches, decorated with leaves and vines, climbed up the rest of the tree. An idea came to me.

Standing up, I took a few steps back so I was little ways from the tree. Then I dashed forward and jumped up with my hands reaching for the lowest branch. I missed and fell to my knees. Quickly getting back on my feet, I stepped back again and ran forward. This time my fingers grazed it, but I was still unable to grab it. I landed on my feet this time and bent over to catch my breath. I hated how easily I got tired now because I was so physically weak.

Repeatedly, I continued to make grabs for the branch, but never once did I catch it. After multiple tries, I bent over with my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath.

The world around me felt quiet and dead of moving life, but to someone else, my landings and grunts had interrupted a trip in dreamland. Gritting my teeth and deciding this was the last time I was trying this, I made one final dash at the branch. I leaped into the air and felt for a moment that I had it. But my fingertips slid unaffectedly across the surface of the limb and the next thing I knew I was on my knees again.

I hung my head in surrender as I panted and rubbed my sore knees. This is pointless.

"What on earth are you doing, Zuko?"

The curious voice scared me and my whole body had a spastic attack. Looking up, I saw Katara staring at me with a confused look in her eyes. She had pulled her knees into her chest and was resting her hands on her knees.

That was when I actually thought about how I may have appeared to someone watching me. I chuckled as I stood up and wiped the bit of mud off my hands on my pants. "Fair enough."

I sat back down beside her, still panting. "I was trying to reach that branch right there," I pointed as I grabbed the bunch of apple bananas.

She looked up at it and, a bit to my surprise, giggled. "That one way up there? Oh you are determined."

I shrugged my shoulders and offered a banana to her. "Here, eat this. Slowly."

She took it tentatively in her thin, brown hand. She pulled back the peel and took a bite. As she chewed, a contented smile presented itself.

"Any good?" I asked.

She closed her eyes in satisfaction and nodded. "Beats fish any day."

After she finished her first one I broke off another one and handed it to her. She ate that one and three more after it. She wanted a sixth one, but I told her that she should wait for a bit so she didn't startle her stomach.

I looked up at the crack in the tree foliage again. The light was fading fast. I looked up at the branch again with a scowl.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked as she wiped her hands on her ragged skirt.

I sighed and pushed my bangs out of my eyes. "Well it would be ideal to have a high place to sleep tonight, unless of course you want to make some friends."

Katara thought about my comment for a moment before her eyes grew wide with fear. "Have you seen any animals?"

I shook my head with an amused smile. "No, and I don't really want to."

Katara nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Me either."

I looked back up at the branch again, trying to come up with some way I could reach it _. I couldn't reach it using my own height. If only I had something to stand on..._

"It's a shame you can't reach that branch," Katara commented. "It would the perfect tree to stay in. If only you had something to boost you up then maybe... umm... Zuko. Zuko, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you're a genius!" I said jumping to my feet.

"I am?" she asked incredulously.

"Or course! Come on, stand up," I said excitedly.

Katara leaned against the tree for support and got up her weak legs.

"Ok come here," I instructed, pointing to the ground where I wanted her to stand.

She limped over to the spot and stood there. "Now what?"

I took a few steps back to double check that she was standing in the right spot. "Perfect. Ok. Here's what I want you to do. Lace your fingers together like this," I told her, spreading my own fingers and putting them together to demonstrate.

She opened her hands and did as I told her. She looked up gave me a nervous glance. "Like this?"

"Good," I took a couple more steps backwards. "Your hands are my boost. When I step onto your hands, use all the strength you have to push up. Got it?"

She looked really uncertain about my plan, but we were both aware that we were running out of options and the sun was sinking fast. "This is crazy, but ok." She positioned herself and nodded.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready."

I took a deep breath and then charged. I stepped up onto her hands and I felt her push up. The combined power of her push and my jump was just enough leverage for me to reach and grab hold of the branch. "Got it!" I exclaimed.

Katara smiled up at me, pleased that her effort had solved their problem. I wrapped my legs around the limb and pulled myself on top of it. I startled the limb and then turned back to Katara. "Ok your turn."

I twisted my body and reached my hands down to her. She reached upward, but she was to far by an inch or so for me to grab her hands. "You're going to have to jump."

Her eyes widened and she looked away. "I... can't. It hurts my legs."

"Not if I catch you, it won't." She looked up me despairingly. "Come on, please try at least. I'd hate for you to become a midnight snack."

She looked out at the surrounding trees and then sighed and nodded. "Ok, alright I'll try."

The uncertainty she felt was all over her face. None the less, she gritted her teeth to fight the pain as she bent her legs. I was ready for her when she pushed herself off the ground. Her hands fell into mine and I grabbed hold of them. She gasped when her feet remained in the air. I grinned down at her. "Told you I would catch you."

She grinned back. I pulled her up and she perched herself beside me. "I don't want to go any higher."

I nodded. "Ok, I won't force you."

The last of the sunlight faded from the sky, as we situated ourselves on the tree limb. I was sitting on the branch where it connected to the trunk with my head and back rested against it as I steadied my breathing. Katara remained in her sitting position, all the while staring up at the remaining light. Once it was gone, she shivered and moved her eyes to watching the ground below her feet.

I noticed a concentrated look on her face. "What's the matter?"

"This whole thing... it's all unbelievable. I never dreamed I would ever get stuck on an island. Let alone with you."

If her words had exited her mouth in a different tone, they could have really stung. But her words were nowhere near hurtful. They were worse because they sounded soft and broken.

I rolled my shoulders. "Gee thanks."

She sighed and turned her eyes to look at me. "I didn't mean it like that." She paused and lowered her voice. "I'm actually kind of glad it's you."

This statement surprised me. "Oh really? You wouldn't rather be stuck here with your little Avatar boyfriend?"

Katara's small smile faded and transformed into a frown. "His name is Aang. And he's not my boyfriend."

"Heh, try telling that to the world."

"Huh?" she asked incredulously.

I closed my eyes and put my hands behind my head. "Don't pretend you don't know."

She scowled. "Sorry to disappoint."

 _Figures she wouldn't know, I guess._ "Everyone knows that the Avatar is traveling the world with his girlfriend and her beloved brother."

"What?"

"That's right. Everyone thinks you two are a couple."

"Well their wrong!"

I reopened my eyes at her outburst.

She turned her head away as she sniffed and wiped her nose. "Their wrong. He's... he's like the little brother I never had. There's no way he would like me anyways. I forced him and Sokka into a magical romance I created with someone else who I barely knew and thought was a good person. I hate him now, but my bad character judgments scare me sometimes. It's... it's just so hard to trust people now with the war going on."

Her words startled me. I had always believed that her and the Avat- Aang were together. But her words made sense of their relationship. They were close like a family, not like lovers. I scratched my nose and nodded. "I see. It would appear that they, and I, were wrong about you and Aang."

She glanced back at me. She didn't say anything, but I read a thank you in her sapphire eyes.

Katara yawned and closed her eyes again. A faint breeze drifted through the air, sending with it the scent of sea water. The water bender shivered and rubbed her arms.

"Cold?" I asked.

"No," she responded tartly.

I grinned at her tough guy act. "Katara, it's not a crime to admit your cold."

"I know. I'm just not, that's all."

I smiled and then reached forward and placed my hand on hers. As I suspected, it was as cold as ice. She glanced at me and in return, I gave her a look that silently asked her to not resist. She shivered again and gave in.

She turned her back and scooted cautiously towards me until her back rested against my chest. She laid her tired head on my chest as her injured legs sank down, falling over both sides of the limb. I rested my head against the tree trunk again after I pushed her hair over one of her shoulders so it wouldn't get in my mouth. Then, a little timidly, I wrapped my arms around Katara's upper body to keep her warm and safe. Her thin, injured body felt so tiny and fragile beside me. Once I knew she was asleep, I felt a small sense of guilt as I hugged her closer to me as if I could somehow erase all that had happened to her the past few days.

The night became darker and deeper as I slowly and quietly drifted off into a deep sleep, exhausted physically and mentally from a long day.

°○•●°•○°○•●°○•

The next day ran something similar to the previous day, mainly consisting of moving through the jungle and looking for food and water. After the sun had risen and we had jumped out of our tree, I plucked a few more apple bananas, and we ate as we began walking. Katara had complained a little that morning about her legs hurting. Once we were back on the ground, I offered to carry her, but she politely refused and treaded on ahead of me. I saw the limp in her steps and I noticed she favored her right leg more than her left. I couldn't help wondering if an infection had already set in.

We continued on in that fashion in what felt like a straight line. However, on a few occasions, we did have to alter our course because of mud pits, thick vines, rocks and the likes. Even if we were going in circles, I don't believe we had have known the exact differences. Our surroundings always looked the same to a certain degree and we were always too concentrated on bush whacking to memorize our surroundings. We took turns cutting through the vegetation. The air was very humid, as it is in any tropical climate, and so Katara could easily bend some water from the air to slice through vines. Her bending abilities were also the only way for us to have something to drink. It wasn't the greatest since it was coming from hot, sticky air, but it was better than nothing. Visualizing it as hot tea helped it go down a little better, even though it couldn't compare to a chilled glass of water.

We rested about midday under a tree with some more bananas we had found a bit earlier. I took a short nap and woke up to find Katara fiddling with her leg bandages. I watched her for a short moment as she retied the wrappings and readjusted her skirt to cover them. Then she pushed herself up onto her feet using the trunk of the tree for support. She winced a little and I saw pain etched on her face for second, but just as soon as it came, it disappeared. After steadying herself, she wobbled over into some bushes to answer natures call. I heard her hiss and then curse and I supposed she must have stepped on something sharp again. That was the third time today.

After she came out of the bushes, we continued on into the jungle in silence until late afternoon came and I began keeping a look out for a good tree to spend the night in. By about the time the sun setting, I discovered the perfect tree. Its branches were not as high as the tree we slept in the night before, but it was much easier to climb.

I climbed up first again and then leaned down to help Katara. She was so light that I didn't even break a sweat between getting myself up and then pulling her up. Once we were settled, we chatted on useless topics while we waited for the sun to go down. We talked about the war, and how much longer we thought Ba Sing Se would last, and how things might be if Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai.

"But what if my father defeats Aang?" I asked, actually very interested in her opinion.

She was silent for a moment while she considered my question. The way she looked up at trees with a hint of loneliness in her eyes made me think she had tried to answer this question before. "I don't know. I think things will only get worse from where there are now. For some people though, life isn't too bad. Like the people of the Fire Nation and in certain parts of Ba Sing Se. They have it easy. They have their families, they don't have anything to fear, and they have homes and food."

A sudden darkness crept into her eyes making her blue orbs look like black ice. "And then there are people from the North and South Pole and parts of the Earth Kingdom who are barely making it. Their families are split up from fathers, brothers, and sons going to war or being killed in some way or another. They count themselves very lucky to have a meal each day and a roof over their heads to escape the weather. They are always wondering when the fateful day will come when their enemies will find them and what little they had will be gone." She turned her head to look at me. Her eyes were alive with an emotion I couldn't quite pinpoint. It was something deeper than anger, but not as savage as murder.

"If your father does happen to beat Aang, many people will break and many more will die. This war is all I've know my whole life. If I don't live to see it ends..." She trailed off and turned away from me.

The ice had broken in her eyes and I knew now she was probably just scared. Most people were. How could things get any worse? What would happen if things did get worse? Ozai would level the four nations if he defeated Aang. And who would save them then? If Ozai didn't kill Aang, he would lock him up to rot in a damp prison cell.

"Life in the Fire Nation is not all roses and rainbows. It may seem that way to the other nations, but it's really not much better. Some families do live in poverty and struggle to maintain what they have. People of a lower rank are treated with cruelty by people of a higher rank. The people don't know what freedom feels like and I have always wanted to share that with them. Or at least how it feels to not have to be afraid."

We fell into a lapse of silence after that as the last of the orange and gold rays of the sun slowly faded away from the cracks in the foliage above our heads. The jungle was hushed and we were surrounded by darkness. There were no sounds except for a few frogs that came out to chirp until the middle of the night. With my back resting against the tree trunk I began to nod off.

I almost jumped when I felt a cold hand latch onto mine. I sat up with a groan. "Shhh!"

I opened my eyes all the way and strained to see through the darkness. I found Katara's wide eyes glowing like sapphires in the blackness. "What's the matter?"

"Be quiet!" she hissed. Her hand was clamped tight around mine and I noticed that it was shaking a bit.

"Katara," I said in a low whisper. "What's going-"

I was cut off by a noise that sounded like a low menacing growl. I swallowed. _Crap._

"Zuko," Katara whispered, clutching my hand tighter. I could feel it starting to cramp. "What are we going to do?"

Thinking fast, I tried to calculate the best way to keep ourselves from being attacked. We are about five feet off the ground. That's child's play to a full grown panther or platypus bear to jump up or swipe us off our limb. But maybe it was something not as big as that and would stay on the ground. _Yeah. I'm sure were safe right where we are._

But another growl, louder than the one before, and a gasp from Katara quickly changed my mind. "Katara, we need to get to the next limb up," I whispered urgently. I expected her to stubbornly refuse, but she nodded instead. "Ok."

I climbed up to the next branch which about three feet above our head's. I then leaned down to help Katara, but she was already pulling herself up. I grinned. She was trying to be cool, but I could tell she was freaked out of her skin.

"Ok. We should be safe here. And if something does attack, I've got my swords and you can bend just fine," I reassured her as I settled back against the trunk.

She didn't say anything in reply, but a few moments later I felt her cold hand again, this time on my knee. "I'm cold," she whispered almost so I couldn't hear her.

I blinked twice and then got her hint. Five minutes later we were both sound asleep with Katara in my lap and her head resting comfortably on my chest with my arms wrapped protectively around her so she wouldn't fall or get eaten.

°○•●°•○°○•●°○•

The next morning we found no animal footprints or any evidences that there had been an animal below us last night. I assumed the animal had either not been there very long or there had been no animal at all and we had been merely jumping at sounds and shadows.

The started out very badly between me and the waterbender. For reasons I didn't know, Katara had decided that she was going to be difficult and nasty that morning. She got down from our tree branch with some difficulty, but she didn't let on that it was hard or painful for her. However, once she was down on the ground, something clicked in her and she instantly sat down and began to complain excessively that her legs hurt and that she was not going to walk today. Tired as I was and steadily growing in impatience, I tried my best to persuade her to walk for maybe just an hour if not anything. But she only frowned up at me from her spot on in on the mossy ground and bluntly refused again to walk at all.

"Well, we need food so someone has to go get some," I stated grumpily as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Katara was already in a bad mood and was fixated on having her way. "I'm not going anywhere," she informed me.

I glared at her for a moment and then put my hands up in defeat. "Alright, fine." I reached behind my shoulder and pulled one of my dual swords from its sheath. "I guess it's up to me then," I replied. I tossed the sword at her and it hit the ground with a thud near where she was sitting.

She glanced at it confusedly and then tilted her gaze up at me to give me a weird look.

"What's this for?" she asked gesturing to it.

I rolled my eyes. I was slowly growing more and more exasperated with her. "Please don't be offended and I know you can bend, but I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone here without a reliable weapon."

She glanced again at the weapon, but this time more distastefully. "How am I supposed to use it if I can't even walk?" she asked grouchily.

I shrugged my shoulders as I pulled the second dual sword out from behind me. "I'm sure you'll be able to find the strength in you to get up and fight or run if you're about to be eaten."

She sneered at me in what felt like an attempt to get me to take it back. But then she snatched up the sword and turned her head away from me. "Fine. Now go find some food already. I'm starving."

I balled my empty fist and forced myself to swallow a retort before I gave her one last look of irritation instead and headed off into the jungle in hopes of finding some food to satisfy the needy little waterbender.

 ** _Katara Pov_**

With the hilt of Zuko's broad sword still grasped tightly in my left fist, I scooted backwards towards the trunk of the sturdy tree we had slept in last night so I could rest my back against it. I sighed and winced as I bent my right leg upwards to get myself more comfortable. I closed my eyes as the pain quickly subsided and tried to relax.

"Pfft!" I said aloud with my eyes still shut. "No point in even trying to relax. There's way to much going through my head right now."

I tapped my head against the tree trunk in thought. "For starters, my legs are killing me. I'm positive one of them, if not both, is infected. And then there's this whole fix of being stuck on this stupid island. Who knows how we will get off."

I paused for a moment and then felt a sudden sense of horror as new thought dawned on me. "Or what if... what we never get off." Absentmindedly, I slowly lifted the sword into my lap. "What if I am stranded on this island for the rest of my life? What if I die here never knowing where my family is or if their alright? I'll never see the war end and make a peaceful life for myself."

These new revelations flooded and overwhelmed my mind, causing a mix of fear and anxiety to take over my body. I grew tense and, without even realizing it, the knuckles of my hand that was holding the sword had turned white. My body began trembling from the tenseness.

 _This can't be it. This can't be how it ends. I don't want this to be my story!_

As my mind continued to race, the loud snap of a stick resounded from the thick trees and vines surrounding me. My body went rigid as my mind came to a sudden standstill. I looked nervously around me as a whole new fear sent chills crawling up my spine.

I waited in frozen terror for a few moments, straining for anymore noises to identify what had made the noise. An animal? Or maybe a bird? Nothing. Silence took control of the atmosphere again, making my panic even worse. Then, I heard movement coming from somewhere near. I urgently looked left and right as I began to push myself up onto my feet. Then I looked straight in front of me to see a long thing that looked something like a long stick, poking out from behind the foliage.

I lifted my weapon, ready to defend myself against whatever was behind those trees. Thoughts of fight or flight were racing through my brain. I desperately wanted to flee, but there was no way I could outrun a carnivorous animal in my current condition. I felt that I at least I stood a chance fighting. But what came out from behind those trees, I never could have prepared myself for.

To my complete surprise, out stepped an old man with a magnificent tan, a gray mop of hair and a gray beard about two inches long. He wore earth colored clothes and had shining green eyes that were almost completely hidden by his big, bushy eyebrows. He was barefoot and stood slightly hunched over as any old person does. The stick poking out of the foliage, I now realized, was his walking stick.

The man was not scary or intimidating in the least, but his presence, the presence of a human being, and the shock of it not being animal as I had expected, rattled my panicked brain and body. To this day, I still don't understand why I dropped the sword and screamed as if I were being murdered, instead of rushing forward to hug him.

The old man went a bit pale and seemed to be somewhat frightened, but he didn't move. My scream was short lived and I remained where I was standing on my trembling legs with my paralyzed body pressed up against the tree. I watched him carefully as he leaned on his walking stick and shifted his eyes back and forth a few times from me to the dual sword. A confused look came over his face, causing me to feel confused for a reason I wasn't sure I understood.

"And where did you get this?" he asked in a deep, raspy voice as he pointed to the sword.

I blinked and then glanced down to where he was pointing. I pursed my lips as I tried to find the words to respond with. "It was... given to me," I finally answered in a small voice.

The old man squinted and cupped a hand to his ear. "Say what?"

I swallowed. "It was given to me," I repeated, louder and more assertive this time.

He nodded slowly as he placed his hand back on his walking stick. "Ah I see. And who might have given it to you?"

I searched my mind for the proper word to refer to Zuko as. "A friend."

"And where might that friend be?" he inquired further.

"You sure ask a lot," I replied a little more sharply than I intended.

To my surprise he didn't look hurt, but instead smiled and released a small chuckle. "Oh you think so?"

I found myself relaxing a little at his easy mood. "Yes."

The old man continued to smile. "Does it bother you?"

"It... no not a lot I suppose," I answered truthfully.

"Well then is it fine then if I ask just one more question?"

His eyes twinkled with curiosity under his thick eyebrows. I nodded with an equal curiosity as to what he would ask me.

"Who are you?"

 ** _Zuko Pov_**

As soon as I heard her scream, I turned tail and sprinted back in the direction I had come. Thoughts and fears raced through my mind, making me run faster and faster.

 _I knew I shouldn't have left her alone! What was I thinking?_

I darted through the sections of vines I had cut and dodged any tree that got in my path, all the while praying to Agni that Katara would remain unharmed until I got to her. There was no way I could forgive myself if she were to get hurt. Again.

I spotted the small clearing where I had left the waterbender just ahead of me. I ran faster with one last push and exited the mass of trees. I was greeted with an interesting shock.

There was Katara sitting with her back against the tree we had slept in and standing above her with his back to me in olive colored clothing and dark skin, was a man supporting his weight on a walking stick. A wave of emotions I didn't understand at the moment but what I recognized later as protectiveness, washed over me. I thought later that it all had something to do with the events of what happened on the pirate ship.

I darted over to them and stepped between them. "Get away from her!" I warned glaring at him.

He looked up at me in surprise, but not shaken and then glanced beside me to where Katara was scrambling to get onto her feet.

"Zuko stop! He wasn't- ah!"

I turned to see Katara fall back to the ground with her face twisted in pain.

"Is this your friend, my dear?" he asked Katara without a tremble in his voice.

Katara was in too much pain to respond, so I did it for her. "You better bet your life on it!" I lifted my broad sword and pointed it at his face. The old man stumbled back a few paces, but remained on his bare feet with great assistance from his staff. "What did you do to her?" I exclaimed.

"Nothing," he responded calmly. "Why would I do anything to her?"

I gritted my teeth and let my raging emotions take over my speech. "To hurt or take advantage of her! I don't know, but I do know I don't trust mysterious, older men anymore!"

The old man still didn't move or appear to be in any sort of way worried or fearful of the situation. "I think a past experience has led you to misunderstand this one."

I was fazed slightly by his words in a revelation that he could be right, but I held my ground. "Judging by your age, you should know more than most that it's hard to trust anyone these days!"

He gave me a bit of a confused look, but brushed off my words easily. "I think your worrying Katara."

Startled at him knowing Katara's name, but more worried about Katara's well-being, I turned to see her standing rather unsteadily on her feet with her eyes wide open with anxiety. "Katata? Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No! Of course not. He's a friend."

 ** _Katara Pov_**

I desperately wanted to get between them so Zuko wouldn't hurt the old man, but the pain in my legs restricted me. I knew if I even took one step away from the tree, I would fall. "His name is Rohan. He didn't hurt me."

Zuko turned away from me and lowered his sword. He took a small step backwards in what looked like a bit of an embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I... I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions," I heard him say quietly. I was honestly quite surprised he actually apologized, let alone admit his fault.

Rohan smiled kindly. "It's alright my boy."

Zuko sheathed his sword, performed a brief apologetic bow and then turned to me to make sure I was alright. "You ok? Do think your legs are bleeding?" he asked with honest concern in his voice as he picked up his other sword and put it with its twin.

I nodded as he leaned down a bit to my eye level. I slipped an arm over and his neck and limped a little from the tree. Zuko had a better idea though. He leaned down more and gently slipped his arms under my legs and around my back. My bare feet left the ground and the next thing I knew, I was pressed up against Zuko's bare chest. But before I could complain, I realized how much better and pain free my thighs felt. I bit back my words and allowed him to help me.

Zuko walked back over to Rohan and spoke with a much humbler tone of voice.

"Rohan right?"

Rohan nodded. "It is a pure pleasure to meet you. Your name is..."

"Oh. Zuko. My name is Zuko," the firebender replied without a stutter. I was a little shocked because it seemed like he would be more careful with his title.

"Nice to meet you Zuko," Rohan grinned. I couldn't help but cringe a little at his crooked, decayed teeth. "Hmmm Zuko. That's a Fire Nation name, isn't it?"

Zuko nodded. "Yes."

"You're a firebender then?"

Zuko nodded again.

"Well it seems like you two have yourselves in a rather peculiar situation. From what Katara has told me, you've been here a couple days?" Rohan asked looking at them with the same curiosity as before.

Zuko sighed dishearteningly. "That's correct. We washed up a day or two ago."

Rohan nodded. "I have shelter about a ten minutes' walk from here. I can also offer food, fresh water, bedding, and medical attention." He turned his full attention on me. "If I'm not mistaken miss Katara, your legs have been injured and you cannot walk?"

I nodded solemnly. "You would be correct."

"You're lucky then. I have some background in healing," Rohan replied reassuringly. "Now come. Let's get back before the sun sets."

°○•●°•○°○•●°○•

Rohan's shelter was truly incredible. The materials of the exterior were bamboo poles and furans. The bamboo seemed to make excellent, strong walls and the furans made for a working roof that was waterproof. I was shocked when he told us that he had built it himself and was still making improvements on it. The actual structure was built up on a platform about a foot off the ground. Beside the platform was a small cultivated area that I supposed was a garden of some kind. There were four steps leading up to a covered deck-like area with the entrance to the hut on the right. It would be a lie to say that there was a sturdy door, or least the type of door you may be imagining. This doorway was covered with a tarp of some kind, which I soon discovered was a sail from a boat. I recognized the feel of the material.

If the outside wasn't surprising enough, the interior sure was something to behold. There appeared to be three separate rooms, each serving a different purpose. After closer inspection, we discovered that the smallest room was where Rohan slept and kept all his belongings, the second room, which was a bit smaller, served as a kitchen and a place to store food and other supplies.

The third room was my favorite. It was like an entry room but it became a living room for us. There was a table built from bamboo beside the doorway, a bench that was also crafted from bamboo at the back of the room and a rolled up blanket instead of a sofa, lay in front of a small cave cut from the wall with rocks surrounding it. Judging from the sand and ashes in it I guessed it was a fireplace of sorts. Two openings had been carved from one wall providing light during the day. Two rolled up curtains sat above the windows.

"This is beautiful!" I commented in amazement as we entered.

Rohan smiled with a hint of a blush. "Thank you. It's a work in progress though."

The old man hobbled into his bedroom and returned a few moments later with some blankets and sacks that were stuffed so they were puffy. I assumed this was the best he could do for a pillow. I wasn't super dependent on pillows though because me, Aang, and Sokka had traveled without them.

"I'm afraid this is the best I can do for bedding right now," he said as he dropped the bedding in one corner of the house near the fireplace. "You can use that blanket there too," he added pointing to the sofa blanket.

Zuko nodded in thanks. "Thank you. We really appreciate all this."

Rohan grinned mischievously. "I've only just begun."

He went back to his room and came back with; I could hardly believe it, clothes! He offered Zuko a chestnut vest with a white undershirt and maroon pants. For me, he had a blue dress with white details and princess sleeves that reached down a little past my knees. He also said he had some sandals for me that I could try on later. The question as to where he had all this clothing did cross my mind, but once I and Zuko tried the clothes on, it vanished in an instant.

Zuko fixed my bed up for me and I was about to slip into it very much ready for some well-deserved rest, but Rohan stopped me. "May I have a look at your legs, Katara?"

I wanted to say no, but decided against it and agreed. So sitting on my bedding with my legs straight out in front of me, Rohan pushed my dress up so he could have a good look. I thought he wouldn't have enough light to see, but the light of the afternoon streamed in through the windows providing us with more than enough light.

After he undid my bloody wrappings, Rohan washed the wounds with a brown cloth dipped in water from a small bowl. Then he had Zuko tear two new strips of cloth from an old blanket that was obviously falling apart. He wrapped those around my legs tightly, but not as tight as I had them before. This whole process took longer than it seemed and the daylight slowly started to slip away. When Rohan finally finished his work and asked me how the new wrappings felt, the sun was already setting behind the waves surrounding the island.

"Much better," I sighed contentedly, as I pushed my dress back down over my legs.

"Good," he replied. He rose to his feet with the help of his staff. "Are you hungry?" he asked, though I knew he already knew the answer.

We both nodded vigorously. He grinned in amusement at us and then headed toward the kitchen to retrieve some food.

I began to lift my blanket so I could settle down, but Zuko took it for me. "Thanks," I said as I got under it and nestled my head on the pillow.

"Sure," he replied. He became silent for a moment as his eyes drifted away from me. I knew something was bothering him. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

I blinked in confusion. "What for?"

His jaw worked as he tried to find the words. "All of this. I... I never thought any of this would happen when I followed you that night. And now we're stuck here and your hurt and-"

I gently placed my hand on his leg to silence him. "Hey. I don't blame you for any of this," I said sincerely.

The firenender's eyes were tearing up a bit. "I know... but I still... I still feel responsible."

I gave him a sad smile and then pushed myself up into a sitting position. I moved my hand away from his leg and pulled him into a hug. "I know you were only following your heart. Please don't beat yourself up for that. We will find a way out of this."

His warm arms found their way around me and he pulled me closer and closer to him until there was no space between us. "Your right. This isn't the end."

We pulled apart a bit and I placed my hand on his scared cheek. To my surprise he didn't flinch or move away. "Promise me you won't give up?"

His eyes were still a bit misty, but he nodded. "I promise."

I smiled in relief and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek I was touching. Then, before he could say anything, I lay down on the sack pillow again and closed my eyes. It was only a matter of seconds before I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

 ** _Zuko Pov_**

I lifted my hand to where she had kissed me. I brushed the rough scar tissue with my fingertips. She hasn't been this caring towards me since we were on the iceberg.

I noticed for the first time that I had cared for her on the pirate ship and on the island because she had been vulnerable and physically weak. But she had been so strong on the iceberg and was always there to comfort me when I felt hopeless. And now that she was feeling safe and at peace again, she has reverted back to her more caring self.

"Asleep already?"

I turned my head to see Rohan standing above me with a plate full of food. I hadn't even heard him come back into the room. "Yeah. I think she was more tired than she realized."

Rohan grinned knowingly and jerked his head over to the fireplace. "It gets cold here some nights. Would you be as so kind as to light me a fire?"

I glanced at the fireplace and noticed for the first time a small pile of wood beside it. Getting up on my feet, I walked over to the fireplace and knelt down in front of it. I took a few logs from the neatly stacked pile and placed them on top of the ashes from previous fires. Finally, I sent a spark towards the wood and a fire was blazing in a matter of seconds.

Feeling satisfied with my work, I sat back on the sofa blanket and watched the flames flicker in the simple, but well-made fire pit.

"Thank you," Rohan said in a low voice as he sat down beside me. "Sometimes it takes me forever to get my blasted spark rocks to work."

I grinned, but kept my eyes on the flickering flames. I only shifted my gaze when Rohan set the plate of food on my lap. My mouth instantly began to water. There was freshly sliced pineapple pieces, two slices of a juicy looking mango, and half a coconut shell filled with clean water. Instantly I began eating everything and had it all down in two minutes flat. Setting the plate aside and sitting back on my hands, I sighed contentedly. "Thank you. That was excellent. I haven't had fresh fruit like that in a few years."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," replied the old man.

All sounds dissipated from the small hut, except for the crackling of the fire and the _koi qui_ sounds some tropical frogs were making. Finally, it got to me and I felt I had to break it. "So what is your plan for getting off the island?" I asked nonchalantly as I sat up and began taking off my boots.

The old man turned and looked at me with an expression of confusion. "I beg pardon?"

I glanced sideways. "Getting off the island. What's your plan so far? Do you have a boat or raft some sort in the works?"

Rohan stared at me for a moment longer before I knew he understood what I was asking. My hopes fell too quickly at his solemn expression. "Zuko... mmm... I guess there is really no easy way to say this."

I cocked my head. _What did he mean by that?_

Then he looked me straight in the eye and told me the ugly truth. "Zuko, I have been stuck here for thirty years now. I have made multiple attempts to get off this island, but there is almost like a curse or a force keeping me here and refusing to let me leave. I have tried building rafts, but they have all sunk. I have tried smoke signals, but no one ever sees them. I have bottled four rescue notes, but not one has been answered nor has it found its way back to this island's beaches."

All the hope I had been storing up since we first got lost at sea on the iceberg, began to pale and disintegrate. "You mean..."

"I'm sorry," Rohan continued sadly while shaking his head. "There is no way off this island."

I stared with shock and disbelief into the blazing fire. _There was no way off? How can that be?_

The flames flickered and licked each other and the longer I stared at the flames, the more I felt like my element was taunting me. _Maybe this is my punishment for everything I've done in the past._

I gazed over where Katara was sleeping soundly. I gritted my teeth in frustration. _This is so unfair to her. She's good and innocent. Why did she have to get trapped here too? She should be with her family and Aang, not with a banished, scarred prince who doesn't have any place to call home._

"We can't tell this to Katara," I whispered as I battled with my freshly stirred emotions.

"I agree," Rohan replied. "She has a lot going on right now and I hate to see how this news would affect her." He paused and added, "But Zuko, please remember that we will have to tell her eventually. She will ask and there is no point in telling her a lie."

I nodded to show I understood. "Alright."

Rohan sat still for a moment and then rose. "Well I must be going to sleep now. You should too. If you want, you may release the curtains on those windows above you two so you don't wake to the sunlight in your eyes."

I nodded again, but kept my eyes on Katara.

"Good night," Rohan whispered and then without waiting for a reply, hobbled off to his room.

I got up from where I was sitting and fixed the windows as Rohan suggested. Using the remainder of the blankets Rohan had brought out, I made my own bed up and situated my pillow. But before I got into bed, I knelt in front of Katara.

She looked so at peace and happy as she slept and for me that was a great comfort to know that she wasn't in as much pain as before. I lightly brushed a strand of chocolate hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Then in an almost silent whisper I said, "I promise I won't let you go. I will always come after you. I won't abandon you and if you run, I will follow." Smiling sadly to myself, I pulled her blankets up to her chin and, without thinking, returned her kiss from earlier by planting my lips on her forehead.

Looking back, I think I was so exhausted from the previous few days that I wasn't completely aware of my actions that night. But I do remember sleeping the best I had in a long while and having the simplest of dreams that gave me fruitful rest and peace.

 _Part 2 to be continued... °○•●°•○°○•●°○•_

* * *

 ** _So just in case you didn't catch it, (I didn't make it clear) the first paragraph is Rohan's thoughts before he meets Zuko and Katara. Just to be clear. Thank you so much for reading and I am sorry again for this taking so long! I would love to hear what you think! It takes ten seconds for you to send your thoughts to me. I'm fine with criticism, but please nothing nasty. Till next time!_**

 ** _~Magical Reality~_**


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